Eagles still searching: Ken Whisenhunt interviewed

Jan. 14, 2013
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Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt before an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. Whisenhunt, fired by the Cardinals, interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles. / Tony Avelar AP

by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

As the third week of the Philadelphia Eagles' coaching search gets underway, the team continues to dig deeper and deeper.

And with each dig, they're unearthing more and more NFL experience and success.

The Eagles announced Monday they interviewed Ken Whisenhunt, who was fired by the Arizona Cardinals at the end of the regular season. Whisenhunt is the only coach in franchise history to take the Cardinals to the Super Bowl.

Whisenhunt has already interviewed with the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and San Diego Chargers. He was a finalist for the Browns' job, which went to Rob Chudzinski. (Chudzinski is working on filling out his coaching staff and requested permission to speak to Jacksonville Jaguars defensive line coach Joe Cullen. Permission was granted by the Jags, who are looking for their own head coach right now.)

Whisenhunt's interview comes a week after the team interviewed former Baltimore Ravens' coach Brian Billick. That meeting took place last Monday, as first reported by CSNPhilly.com. Billick won a Super Bowl with the Ravens 12 years ago. Billick has been out of coaching for five years and has enjoyed his transition into TV as an analyst for Fox and the NFL Network, but seems legitimately interested in a return to the sideline.

The Eagles also interviewed former Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith, who took his team to the Super Bowl in February 2007 but lost to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.

The meetings with Whisenhunt, Billick and Smith come after a first wave of interviews that mainly focused on NFL coordinators (the Atlanta Falcons' Dirk Koetter and the Seattle Seahawks' Gus Bradley, to name two) and college coaches (Chip Kelly, Bill O'Brien and Brian Kelly) who decided to remain in school.

The Eagles are expected to start paring down their list of candidates (10 interviews have been conducted, according to the team and reports) this week after interviews with the Cincinnati Bengals' Jay Gruden and the Indianapolis Colts' Bruce Arians.